Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of POPS Senior Profiles we’ll be publishing.

Izzy Pavano ’23 has been involved in music for practically her entire life. At the age of four, she started playing piano, and as she had gotten older, she has involved herself more and more with different types of music. She began singing in sixth grade in the chorus at Wellesley Middle School. Now at the high school, she has studied vocal music for all four years.

“During my freshman and sophomore years, I was in Concert Choir at the high school. After that I auditioned for a select ensemble and was in the Keynote Singers my junior year. I currently sing in Rice Street, the high school’s jazz choir.” said Pavano.

Outside of school, Pavano has also participated in extracurricular a cappella during her junior and senior years. She is the business leader of Inchordination A Cappella, meaning she helps manage the group and books gigs. She has found this experience particularly rewarding because of the collaboration with the other high school a cappella leaders, both from her own group and the three others.

“Being a leader of an a cappella group is no easy feat, but the support I feel from my fellow leaders makes the leadership role nothing but an honor. Even though the four groups can occasionally get competitive with one another during our soccer tournament called acasoccer, at the end of the day we are each other’s biggest cheerleaders and we couldn’t be more proud of the work each group does,” she said.

Pavano’s involvement with the Choral department at the high school goes beyond what audience members see at a concert, however. What has made Pavano’s experience so special has been the people and community she was welcomed into as an underclassman, and that she now fosters as a leader and a choral intensive student. Pavano hosted the Inchordination group at her house for a dinner, providing a fun experience for singers from all grades.

Many of Pavano’s leadership skills in the Choral department came from last year’s seniors, the class of 2022, who were integral to keeping the choral program alive during the pandemic. One of Pavano’s most memorable experiences at the high school was singing a medley from the musical Rent at the spring concert last year because it was the last concert for the class of 2022.

“We had an exceptional group of seniors that year who had truly given their all to our program. The concert was a wonderful way to end the year with them, and while we were all so sad to lose them, we were so happy to have had such a phenomenal year with them.” said Pavano.

Inchordination A Cappella also has a signature move, as Pavano calls it, of dropping their heads at the end of their last song as the crowd bursts into applause. This year, at the Acatober concert, Pavano got to share that moment with someone very special to her: her younger sister, Sophia Pavano ’26. It was especially sweet because of all the hard work she had put into the concert as a choral intensive student and a leader of Inchordination.

“Hearing the crowd’s reaction to our set while being cheered on by the other a cappella groups was such a rewarding feeling and something I felt extremely proud of as a leader of our group,” she said.

Outside of an impressive repertoire of choral achievements, teachers and peers describe Pavano as a kind and welcoming leader who makes all feel welcome in the choral community.

“Izzy is a dedicated member of our performing arts community that puts significant thought and action to developing our overall Performing Arts Department.  Her focus, energy, and humor positively impacts others,” said Dr. Kevin McDonald, the choral director at the high school.

Izzy also feels incredibly lucky that the performing arts is such a vibrant community at the high school, and that she gets to learn from many other talented students as well as an incredible teacher in Dr. McDonald.

“Dr. McDonald makes it so obvious how much he cares about Wellesley’s singers and our success. He is a strong reminder to me to pursue what both makes me happy and also brings joy to others,” said Pavano. “Above all, the most admirable quality about our choir department is the people in it. Every single singer in the department is so passionate about what we do and that positive energy is contagious.”

Although Pavano does not intend on pursuing a music degree in college, music will definitely remain a part of her life. Pavano plans to attend Middlebury College starting in February 2024 after taking a gap semester. She hopes to join an a cappella group in college and teach piano to local students, as she has done in Wellesley. Her kindness and upbeat energy will certainly remain prominent in the program after she graduates in the spring.

Article written by WHS Bradford’s Caroline Thornton ’23.

Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of POPS Senior Profiles we’ll be publishing.

Not many third grade violinists warm up to play the national anthem while watching the Boston Celtics warm up for a game, but Ivy Lei ’23 has. Ever since Lei chose violin from a list of potential instruments, she has been a part of many musical opportunities, including all eight of the New England Conservatory’s orchestras.

In the ten years Lei has played violin, she has been involved with music inside and outside of the high school. At the high school, along with being an orchestra intensive, Lei is the first stand in the second violins. She has also taken theory classes, played in chamber ensembles, and currently plays in the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at the New England Conservatory (NEC).

Under the tutelage of her private instructor Mark Lakirovich, and the conductor of the high school’s orchestras, Dr. Sergey Khanukaev, Lei has fostered connection and growth within orchestral groups.

“One of the main things that I love about the WHS orchestra is that I’ve been playing with the same people since freshman year, so I’ve been able to build a strong relationship with the orchestra members, and I think that’s a big thing. We can see our bond translate into the music we produce,” said Lei.

Lei’s orchestral friends suggest part of the reason for such a successful bond is Lei herself.

“She is always willing to put others first, allowing them to share their own experiences with her and anyone who might be listening, thus helping to create the warm atmosphere she brings into every room,” said Liam Prentice ’24.

Music has also granted Lei experiences with self-sufficiency and being around similarly impassioned peers, such as at Lakirovich’s summer music camp in Cremona, Italy.

“My first year attending [Cremona] was eighth grade, and I spent three weeks in Italy without my parents. I was living with new people I’d met who also shared my passion for music, so [it] was really fun [to be] independent,” said Lei.

Lei has also dabbled in novel musical opportunities nearer to home. In Lei’s freshman year, she took a chance by being in the pit orchestra for the high school production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

“Pit orchestra was very challenging because of the short amount of time we had to prepare, and I had never played for two and a half hours straight, live. It was interesting to be behind the scenes, yet part of the performance at the same time,” said Lei.

Now busy with high school work and other extracurricular activities, consistently practicing is a challenge. Lei considers school to be more important, and so prioritizes this work, but she still tries to practice every other day for about an hour, and has weekly lessons. Although quitting has always been an option, Lei has never given in.

“The reason I continue playing is because of the journey of playing violin,” said Lei.

In the beginning of Lei’s violin experience, competition was a major factor, particularly when auditioning for prestigious orchestras or other programs.

“Generally, in those environments, the auditions are the competitive parts, but once you’re in, you’re in your seats, in the moment during rehearsal, none of that really matters, and it’s more of a friendly rivalry,” Lei said.

As Lei has gotten older and expanded her interests to include robotics and architecture, she has been able to focus more on playing violin for enjoyment rather than competition.

“I’m grateful for having other interests, because I can [play] violin because I enjoy playing it, and not to be better than other people,” Lei said.

As the co-founder of the architecture club and the mechanical lead for the high school robotics team, Lei must handle many concurrent commitments. A busy robotics season and multiple ongoing  projects in the architecture club (see also “New mini-library a natural fit at Wellesley community garden”) make balance difficult.

Although these different endeavors may seem unrelated, Lei finds that her many engagements have shared elements.

“Going into architecture, there are lots of collaborative aspects, and similarly, in orchestra, you also have to collaborate with other members of the orchestra to make sure you all sound good together,” said Lei.

Lei plans on incorporating her varied interests into her plans for college at Cornell next fall where she will major in architecture.

“I want to keep violin in my life throughout college, which I plan to do at Cornell through their orchestras… I want to participate in that to keep me involved in violin, but I also love playing in orchestras. The people are the main reason why orchestra exists,” said Lei.

As for Lei’s thoughts on incorporating music into her adult life, she sees it as something she will lean on to relieve stress while working on her career.

“I would like to keep [violin] as a hobby, something that I pick up when I need a break from work,” Lei said.

Article written by WHS Bradford’s Alexis Lee ’25 (assistant features editor) and Elizabeth Hoerter ’25 (staff writer)